I Am An AI Fraud: Sorry LinkedIn Friends
The title says it all, gather your pitchforks and burn me at the stake because I deserve it. I will defend myself and say that it was in the name of science, ethics, and learning but I will admit it was also kind of fun.
So what did I do that was so terrible? I created a fake LinkedIn account and used AI tools to power it. Okay so maybe not so bad but I also did something worse which I will have to apologize to my mom and dad for that I will tell you about later. For now, let’s start at the beginning.
The Birth of Felix Haynes
Finding the Perfect Alias
To start my LinkedIn experiment, I needed a name. I settled on “Felix” — a childhood nickname that was given to me briefly, for reasons I don’t quite understand. My parents said it was something to do with me liking to clean up? From there, a quick Google search for “last name generators” helped me find a suitable surname — Haynes. Perfect, right? Well maybe not, but I got bored of clicking the “generate more names” button.
Crafting a Believable Occupation
What would a guy named Felix Haynes do for a living and what would he even post about? Hmm. He is obviously the CTO of an AI start up called umm.. what sounds cool? Oh I know! Hielix.ai that sounds like I just took my first name and smashed some letters into it until it sounded cool. Perfect.
The Face of Felix
Now, onto the profile picture. What does a 30-year-old, white CTO of an AI startup look like? I turned to AI once again, shameful I know, this time using MidJourney with an extremely complex and well thought out prompt: “A stylized social media profile photo of a 30-year-old white CTO.” And voila! Felix Haynes had a dashing profile picture. Oh I also generated a quick profile background with another brilliant prompt: “A social media profile banner background that represents AI.” I feel like a real Prompt Engineer.
The Deceitful AI Tool Called Taplio
For this experiment, I decided to use Taplio, an AI-powered tool that generates and automates LinkedIn posts. I only know about it from a sponsored ad from an AI news channel I watch on Youtube. It’s essentially like having an AI bot run your account. It generates posts, gathers the top linkedIn posts for your to repost, and even generates replies to other people posts. I mean who wouldn’t want AI to run their social presence? I won’t get into all the specifics of the tool because I genuinely despise the premise and this archaic use of AI. The pricing is also absolutely outrageous. More on that later.
My Posts and Results
I generated four AI-themed posts and scheduled them to be posted in the morning and afternoon for two days. The results? A modest 126 impressions, 2 likes, and 1 comment. Not earth-shattering, right? But here’s the catch — I could have easily grown a small following with more time and effort. I just couldn’t bring my morals to agree to the journey. If you want to see the posts, you can check out the account here. Sorry to the person who commented!
My Apology & My Ethical Dilemma
The Unthinkable
Now, for the part that makes me cringe. I decided to test Taplio on my actual personal LinkedIn account. I justified it by using the tool to shed light on AI ethics, but I still can’t escape this feeling of guilt. My post has garnered 678 impressions, 8 reactions, and 2 comments. It’s quite a lot for someone who’s just started posting on their account. The unfortunate part? My dad commented, and my mom liked it. I’m truly sorry, guys, please forgive me! If it helps I 100% agree with the content of the post, it’s just well not mine. You can see the entire thing here.
The Ramifications
So, why am I sharing this story? It’s not just about my experiment; it’s about the broader implications of AI tools like Taplio. What if everyone starts using them for all their social media content and interactions? What if we become even more addicted to likes and engagements, fueled by AI-generated content? We could end up with an internet filled with content created by no one, just AI bots liking and reposting each other. I do understand this does happen to some extent already but we have not seen anything like this before. The internet as we know it could cease to exist.
The Call for Critical and Ethical Thinking
We must think critically when implementing AI tools. Products like Taplio, designed solely for profit during the AI boom, need to be reevaluated. They offer no real benefit to society and could ultimately harm the authenticity of our online interactions and connections. It’s a trend we should all be wary of and actively speak out against.
In the end, my experiment with a fake LinkedIn account and an AI tool was eye-opening, to say the least. It made me question the future of online content and the ethical dilemmas we may face. Let’s keep the human touch in all our interactions and use AI responsibly and for bigger things than social media. After all, we don’t want a virtual world devoid of genuine voices, and ideas, and even people.
